


Always by Your Side

by klonoafan5



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Gen, I promise, Rewrite, but it does have a happy ending, it has some angst, ok maybe a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-07-18 21:09:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16126790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klonoafan5/pseuds/klonoafan5
Summary: Young Maria Robotnik forlornly looked out from beyond the window, her eyes, as blue as the planet before her, yearning for her family back at home. Being the only child in the ARK, aside from dally visits of the GUN general's son, made her very lonely. Until a shocking discovery in her grandpa's lab changes her life for the better.





	1. Chapter 1

Young Maria Robotnik forlornly looked out from beyond the window, her eyes, as blue as the planet before her, yearning for her family back at home. Being the only child in the ARK, aside from dally visits of the GUN general's son, made her very lonely. 

The nine yr old blonde sighed deeply before continuing with her lone stroll down the hallways of the space colony ARK, hoping that her grandpa would be done with his annual meetings. Suddenly a spark of inspiration flashed in her eyes once she had remembered hearing fabled whispers of a new project in the making. A project that had just so happened to be in her grandfather's lab.

With a adventurous smile growing on her face, she headed towards her new destination.

 

After a few cautious looks to see if there were any scientists or her grandfather still around, she soundlessly snuck herself inside. 

Sensing her entry, the door automatically opened and shut behind her as she gazed at her grandfather's immerse research and gadgets. However what drew her attention was the glowing capsule far in the back.

She stared attentively at the water filled glass before her to see a faint silhouette of some sort of humanoid creature inside. Curious, she slowly came closer. 

Inside was a human like hedgehog, almost about the same size and height as her, although a bit shorter due to her being two years older than him. His quills along with his body and legs were shimmering with a bright cobalt blue in contrast to his tan muzzle, belly, and arms.

A gasp shattered the silence around her when the mammal's eyes opened, giving her a slight shock. But soon that shock turned wonder once black met with blue.

"Wow...."

A swoosh echoed throughout the lab as someone else stepped in, causing her to hide behind the capsule. 

"Maria? Are you in here?"

The young girl relaxed once she recognized that old yet gentle voice and came out with a smile. "Grandpa!"

Gerald beamed. "There you are. What are you doing here in this dingy old place?"

"I was bored waiting for you, so I thought I could see what were you and the other scientists were working on."

The scientist's eyebrows furrowed in confusion until he looked up to see the young hedgehog looking at the two of them before stopping to realize that he's been caught and immediately closed his eyes to pretend that he was still sleeping.

"So you finally woke up from your nap. I suppose now you probably want to stretch your legs." A smile grew on his face as he swam eagerly, causing the old man to chuckle. "Okay, okay. I'll release you now."

The professor pushed the button next to him, freeing the blue mammal. He silently watched as the water drained away and a door opened in front of him, allowing him to leave. He looked around and slowly stepped out, his knees wobbling a bit due to not being used to walk on land. Nervous written all over his face, he looked at Maria to see if she had any answers.

"You can do it. Just take your time and put one foot in front of the other."

Albeit cautiously, he took it step by step until he could successfully walk towards them. 

"You did it! You learned how to walk! Congrats Sonic!" Maria smiled with glee as she gave him a hug, knocking him back a bit in shock before accepting the gesture. 

"Sonic?" Gerald asked curiously. Maria nodded after separating from the embrace. "Yep, it fits him."

The professor smiled warmly. "Very well then. Sonic it is."

"Come on, Sonic! I can't wait to show you around!"

Gerald laughed at the heartwarming sight as his granddaughter took the hedgehog out to show him around the colony. "Those two go together like two peas in a pod."

"However," His smile faded as he looked over at his desk which was filled with multiple bits and pieces of information about eight special gems of power, particularly the one called the Master Emerald along with its guardian. "I wonder how long their relationship would last."


	2. Chapter 2

At the ripe age of 12 and 14 respectively, Sonic and Maria raced down the halls, passing by a nearby assistant.

"Hey you two, no running in the ARK."

"Sorry!" The blue adolescent apologized as they stopped. "We won't do it again." Maria replied politely.

Once the assistant was gone, it didn't take them too long to duck underneath the window of the office with grins on their faces. 

"You put the whoopie cushions on their seats?"

"Yeah," Sonic said with a smirk. "They never spotted me at all." 

"Now," They peeked out into the window above them. "Let's watch and see the magic."

The two teens payed close attention as the group of scientists all sat down, except for Gerald who remained standing. 

"Here it comes...."

Just as they planned, a loud orchestra of fart noises blurted out of each and every seat, leaving the team utterly speechless while the two bust out laughing and ran off before any of them could even catch them.

As the team went after them, Gerald just watched the whole scene unfold with a proud smile on his face.

It's only been a few months since Sonic was released and the hedgehog grew exponentially, in physical, emotional, and mental terms, even though it doesn't really seem like it to the other scientists. Not only that, but his bond with Maria has grown quite a lot too. He hadn't seen his granddaughter this happy since she lived back on Earth with her parents.

He began to notice that her physical strength has also improved since then. At this rate, her illness may be cured.

Now if only he could take care of a certain obstacle, things could be looking up.

_If only..._

 

Meanwhile, said hedgehog and girl was still running, the latter was struggling to breathe. "Sonic...Can we stop here please?"

He paused, remembering that Maria was ill, therefore having a low stamina and couldn't run or do any cardiovascular activity for too long. Knowing that, he screeched into a halt. "Sorry Maria, I almost forgot you were sick."

"It's okay, Sonic." She then stopped and stepped up to the giant window, showing the bright and blue planet in front of her eyes.

"Look! There's the planet Earth!"

The hedgehog looked down at the planet before them in awe. "Someday, when I get better, you, me, and Grandpa will go back and live together. We could become a real family."

Sonic was about to say something until he got interrupted by sudden footsteps.

"A family? Hah! Anything with this freak would be a disaster."

In front of them was the head of GUN's son, Abraham. The brunet looked at the two with a grin on his face.

"Stop being a jerk, Abraham." Maria glared. "You're just acting this way because you're jealous."

"What? Jealous? Of this freaky project over there?"

"I have a name." Sonic muttered angrily.

"What? Oh, so it can speak now, huh? Took you long enough. Can you repeat that? I didn't hear you clearly."

"I said," The hedgehog frowned. "I have a name. It's Sonic and I'm not a freak. I'm a hedgehog."

"A hedgehog? Well, you look like a rat to me."

The two glared at each other in a intense staring contest until Maria went in front of them.

"Guys, stop it already. There will be no fighting while I'm around."

"Okay, I'll leave you and your "friend" alone. Oh, and Sonic?" He looked over his shoulder with a smile on his face. "Hope you don't hurt yourself during the testing."

The cobalt hedgehog stood there, his rage soon changed to confusion as they watched him leave.

She gave him a comforting smile. "Don't listen to Abraham, Sonic. That guy only likes to get you angry. It only makes bullies like him to continue to act like bullies. You need to learn to stand up and ignore that kind of stuff, okay?"

Still worried about the thing he mentioned, he decided to ask the professor about it later. And besides, he had some more fun stuff to do.

"Okay."


	3. Chapter 3

“Blast it!" Gerald punched his desk in anger and frustration. He suddenly stopped to see the door open, only to be revealed to be Sonic.

"Did I come at a bad time?"

 

He sighed, calming himself down. "No...It's alright. You can come in." The hedgehog closed the door before him. "I suppose Maria's in bed?"

"Yeah, she's just taking it easy while the nurses give her daily medicine. Doc, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Sonic, you can ask me anything and I'll tell you. I may be your creator, but I'm also human too."

"Abraham mentioned something about some sort of.... _testing_. I just wanted to ask what kind of testing it is."

The smile on the professor's face faded. "Dang it, he wasn't supposed to tell you until you were ready...."

"Ready?" Sonic paused. "Ready for what?"

"Sonic....you do know how your body is made, right?"

"Yeah, you used the energy of the Chaos and Master Emeralds."

"I'm...afraid Sonic, that what I told you isn't the full story."

"It isn't?"

"Not only did I used the power of the emeralds, I also used a mural hidden in ancient ruins as a guideline for your appearance and the DNA of the Master Emerald’s guardian to give you the power to use that energy without any disastrous side effects. That way with your natural affinity towards it, you could heal Maria as well as make the world a better place. But some people aren't so keen into making you its savior. Instead, they want to use you as a weapon for their own purposes and be a harbinger of war."

The hedgehog huffed. “Harbinger of war, huh? Trust me Doc, the last thing I would ever do is follow some maniac's orders. It's always been Maria's dream to go back to Earth with you and me as a family, and as whatever god is out there is my witness, I will make that happen. And a hedgehog never backs down on his word."

"Well, that's good." They turned around to see the GUN general himself. "You know what they say, a obedient weapon is a reliable weapon."

"So," Sonic walked up and crossed his arms. "You're the one who wants me to do your dirty work. Well  _General_ , I'm afraid that I'm not going to do that." 

"Oh, I bet you will. After all, you don't want Maria to get hurt, don't you?" The cobalt blue hedgehog froze, his gloved hand balled up into a fist as he turned around.

_“You wouldn't dare._ ”

A smirk grew on his face. "I would."

Sonic growled furiously before calming himself down. " _Fine_." He replied in tranquil fury, holding out his hand to the man. "As long as you don't hurt anyone that I care about. Deal?"

The general smiled while grasping it firmly. "Deal."


	4. Chapter 4

Gerald was busy experimenting until he stopped and turned around to see his granddaughter come in. "Hey Grandpa, do you know where Sonic is? I haven't seen him for a week since I had my daily medicine."

He opened his mouth to answer her question only to stop and wonder himself. "No. To be honest, I haven't seen him since he met the General." 

Maria frowned solemnly. "That's odd. Normally he would be here right, watching you complete one of your projects."

"Yes, that is quite concerning. I'll take a look in the cameras to find his current location." 

He walked over to his computer and gazed at every known camera in the ARK. Flashes of different scenes throughout the vast colony flickered across the screen endlessly until he stopped.

Maria looked at her grandfather worriedly. "Grandpa?"

"What does that madman think he's doing?!" He exclaimed in anger while banging one of his fists onto the table before getting up from his seat.

"Quickly Maria, we must stop them before it's too late!"

 

In the middle of a brightly lit room lied a hedgehog strapped onto a chair, screaming in agony as a machine powered by chaos drives forced him to absorb its energy against his own will.

"Turn it off."

The assistant did what he said, powering the weapon down and allowing the tortured preteen to slump back. The man leaned over to the microphone in front of him and pushed the button. 

"Oh, the mighty have fallen. Aren't so cocky now, huh?"

He didn’t reply back. 

"You're still not going to talk, are you?"

The hedgehog stayed eerily still, much to his growing annoyance.

The General frowned and was about to order to fire it again when he had stopped to notice a glimmer of gold flashed in front of him like a dying lightbulb struggling to shine its light, his gloves beginning to break before being ripped open, revealing the newclaws that were hidden underneath. 

"General!" One of the female assistants cried out. "I'm getting high chaos energy levels from this! Even the computer can't take this much at once! We should stop this before this whole colony explodes with us in it!"

His lips parted to say something until it was interrupted by a sudden barge in by the professor and his granddaughter.

Maria's eyes widened in both fear and concern as the two witnessed the transformation continue before them.

"It's happening.." His mustache wilted in utter horror.

One of the assistants looked up at their leader. "What should we do?"

"Stop this! Stop this immediately before we all get in danger!"

"No." He paused to see the General. "Keep going. I want to see what happens next."

Maria looked at him with rage in her eyes. "You monster! How could you do this to him?!"

"Him? You mean, the project?"

Gerald's eyebrows furrowed in tranquil fury. "You know what she meant, you crazed megalomaniac."

Before anyone could continue, the massive wave of energy came to a stop, causing everyone to look at the room in front of them. Or what was left of it.

The entire room was completely destroyed, the walls streaking with chaos powered sparks. And in the midst of all of that destruction was a dormant golden hedgehog still locked within the chair. 

"Sonic?" Maria called out anxiously, filling the suspenseful silence around them.

A single ear twitched followed by few stirs from his hands before the changed mammal slowly opened his eyes, revealing them to be endless red spirals.

He blinked twice in confusion before looking up to see Gerald and Maria. A smile began to grow on his face until he stopped to see the General and his rage rose to greater heights.

He growled intensely as he broke free of his restraints and burst through the glass. sending shards everywhere. Everyone ducked as they flew out.

The feral hedgehog landed, his eyes set on his target. He slowly walked towards him. His pressing aura automatically pushed everyone else out the way.

He immediately grabbed the man and raised him up by the collar with his right hand, a sadistic smile grew as his left started to charge up a energy blast set on obliterate.

"Aren't so cocky now, huh General?"

"Sonic, stop!" The hedgehog froze when he heard her shout. He stared, blinking as his swirling eyes became red pupils with lines rippling around them. "Maria..?" 

"Please..." He froze, allowing the General to use this moment as a advantage and punch him into the wall.

The super hedgehog tried his best to stand up only to get crushed in the stomach by his boot. He screamed in anguish. "You should've finish me off, project. Too bad you'll never get the chance once I crush you like the scum you are."

"Let go of him!" He suddenly stopped once she jumped on his back. "Agh!"

He threw her off of him, sending her to the floor. With the odds in his favor, Sonic ignited his hands with electricity and shocked him. The General fell into the floor, completely unconscious.

"Remove him from the premises please." Gerald asked.

"Gladly." One of the male assistants replied as they took the unconscious man and walked away from the room.

A groan of pain brought the scientist back to his main concern as he suddenly found the young hedgehog falling to his knees before collapsing onto the floor.

_"Sonic!"_


	5. Chapter 5

The hedgehog woke up, breathing heavily as he rapidly got up from his bed. He looked around to find himself in his room before letting out a big sigh.

Lights flickered on as a young woman came in immediately and rushed towards his side. "Are you alright, Sonic?"

He eased up a bit before giving her a big smile. "I'm fine, Maria. Just had a bad dream, that's all."

"Was it about the experiment again?"

"Yeah... Every time I transform, I can't help but think I might not be able to control myself. That the longer I stay in it, the more of what makes me _me_ slips away. It even makes me wonder what would've happened if you hadn't stopped me back at the ARK."

Maria frowned. "Sonic Maurice Robotnik, you, me, and Grandpa all know that you're not like that."

"But you've saw what happened to me back there! I almost _killed_ someone! And to make matters even worse, I _enjoyed it!_ If you hadn't stopped me right then and there, I could've-!" He froze midway, slowly beginning to notice that his fur was starting to change color. He averted his eyes away from her. "I don't want to hurt any of you...."

"Trust me, you won't."

He looked up at her. "How do you know?" She smiled as she sat next to him. "Because that's just the way you are.” 

Sonic sat there, letting the comforting words sink into his mind, so he won't forget this moment for as long as he lives.

A smile grew on his muzzle. "Thanks."

"Any time." She gave him a warm hug, walked towards the door, and closed it behind her.

As she headed back to her own room, she stopped to see the moon shining down on her with its silvery glow and smiled.

It felt good to be back.


End file.
